Perspectives: Aussie Moto3 Star Jacob Roulstone Talks Inclusion in Motorcycle Racing
- alicejukes
- May 13
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 28
A Young Champion in the Making
At just 20 years old, Jacob Roulstone is already making waves on the world stage of motorcycle racing. Hailing from the small town of Jamberoo in New South Wales, Australia, Roulstone’s rise has been as rapid as the bikes he races. In 2024, he leapt into the Moto3 World Championship and wrapped up a remarkably strong rookie season. He finished 15th overall in the world championship standings, even scoring multiple top-ten finishes against the globe’s best young riders. This impressive debut proved that the quiet kid from Jamberoo could contest with the sport’s elite. It also earned him a continued ride with the Red Bull Tech3 KTM team – a coveted seat and a launching pad toward future success.
However, Roulstone’s journey hasn’t been without setbacks. Just weeks before the start of the 2025 season, he suffered a serious crash while training that left him with a fractured C3 vertebra in his neck. The injury could have derailed his sophomore campaign entirely. Instead, displaying the grit and determination of a true racer, Roulstone fought his way back to fitness far ahead of schedule. He missed the first two Grands Prix but returned to action by round three at Austin. In Texas he immediately scored a 14th-place finish, earning world championship points on his comeback.
A race later, under the floodlights of Qatar, he repeated the feat with another points-paying 14th place. Two races into his return, two gritty points finishes – not bad for a rider who was in a neck brace over the off-season. It’s clear that Jacob Roulstone’s story on track is one of talent, tenacity, and promise for the future.
From Jamberoo to the World Stage
What drives a young Australian to uproot his life and chase the Grand Prix dream halfway around the world? For Roulstone, the passion for racing started early - and it was a family affair from the beginning. After watching his cousins and family friends rip around on MX bikes, as soon as he was old enough to put his feet on the ground he was allowed his own bike; "There was a farm near our house that my sister, my dad and I used to ride at", Roulstone recalls of his childhood.
“[My sister] was a good rider. She loved it.” In a household where weekends meant loading up the trailer with dirt bikes, it wasn’t just the boys having all the fun. Jacob’s sister could keep up with her brother on the farm trails, and for a time she dreamed of racing competitively too. One local motocross event would prove eye-opening. Jacob remembers taking his sister to watch a race in the class she’d potentially compete in. Seeing the aggressive pace and physicality of the all-male field gave her pause. “She saw the level of the racing... and it’s very intimidating,” Jacob says, understanding why his sister ultimately hesitated to continue. “It’s intimidating, I think, for women.” The intensity of the competition – fueled by boys who had been grinding the throttle since preschool – can be daunting to any newcomer, let alone a teenage girl with few female role models on the track.
In Australia, young female racers were almost unheard of at the time. “In Australia, I think there were about one or two girls that I can remember growing up who raced,” Roulstone notes of his junior days. “It wasn’t as big when I was growing up.” Culturally and historically, motorcycle racing has been a male-dominated arena, and Jacob saw firsthand how that imbalance could discourage even a willing participant like his sister.
Jacob’s own talent and drive, however, only accelerated. As he piled up trophies in local and national competitions, it became clear that to reach the top, he’d have to go where the competition was fiercest: Europe. In 2020, at the age of 15, Roulstone moved with his mother to Spain – the heartland of MotoGP talent development – to race in the ultra-competitive European Talent cup and just 2 years later found himself racing in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and JuniorGP series. “To make it in the sport, you have to move to Spain,” he explains matter-of-factly. It was a bold leap of faith for a teenager from coastal Australia, and the transition was anything but smooth. He arrived in Europe just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Isolated in a foreign country, unable to speak the language and with racing on hold, the emotional toll was heavy. Roulstone acknowledges it was “tricky for Mum as well” to relocate across the globe under those conditions. Yet, through all these challenges, Jacob never wavered in his commitment to chasing his dream. The sacrifice began to pay off as he earned his place in the Moto3 World Championship. And through it all, one person remained his rock: his mother, Leah, who not only moved with him but took on the role of his manager to steer his budding career.
Managed by Mum: A Team Built on Trust
In the pressure-cooker environment of international racing, Roulstone found strength and stability in a familiar place – his mum running the show. It’s not every day you see a mother-son duo navigating rider contracts, team negotiations, and race-day strategy together in the paddock, but the Roulstones make it work with remarkable professionalism. Jacob is quick to credit his mother’s dedication. “Mum does a lot of the meetings and everything… as Dad’s in Australia. So that’s really good because they’re there for me, wanting everything 100% for me,” he says appreciatively.
Having family in his corner means Jacob never has to question the motives of those managing him – he knows it’s all about his success, not a paycheck. And while combining family and business can get “challenging” – they’ve found a balance that few could pull off. “As soon as we leave the track, it’s kind of Mum mode. But at the track, we’re professional,” Jacob explains of their dynamic.
The true extent of Leah Roulstone’s sacrifice is not lost on her son. With a sense of gratitude in his voice, Jacob describes what his mother has done for him. “I can’t be thankful enough for having my mum basically stop her life in Australia and live here with me for five years,”.
Inclusion in the Paddock
Spending his teenage years immersed in racing, Roulstone became acutely aware of just how male-dominated the sport remains – not only on the track, but behind the scenes as well. In the Moto3 paddock, women are still greatly outnumbered, whether as competitors, engineers, or managers. “It’s basically an all-male paddock, so you have to be very strong,” Roulstone says, reflecting on the reality his mother and other women face in the racing world.
He has seen how a tough environment can either intimidate or galvanise women in the sport. In his view, those who succeed develop a kind of fortitude that commands respect. “Women in the paddock have to be strong,” he emphasizes, and many rise to the challenge. In the junior categories Jacob came up through, he noticed that a lot of his peers were also accompanied by their mothers. A sisterhood of racing mums naturally formed, “It’s nice to see that a lot of them are strong, and they all kind of help each other out… for the things that they need,” Jacob shares, describing the informal support network that developed among the women holding down the fort in junior paddocks.
Encouragingly, Jacob has also witnessed progress when it comes to women’s representation in motorsport careers. While female riders at the world championship level are still rare, women are increasingly present in other crucial roles. During Roulstone’s time in the FIM JuniorGP series (the feeder championship to Moto3), he noticed a significant uptake in female engineers, mechanics, and team staff compared to when he was a kid in Australia. “In JuniorGP, there’s a lot of females working in the paddock – for engineers, team media people… I know there’s probably three or four [female] mechanics in the teams”.
Jacob finds the presence of female engineers to be beneficial, “there’s a lot of positives with that as well because they’re calmer… I find that they can work well with high-pressure situations as well”. High praise, coming from a young rider who has seen first-hand how pressure-cooker race weekends can get. Whether it’s turning wrenches, crunching data, or coordinating media, women are proving their mettle in roles traditionally held by men – and Roulstone is among the new generation of racers who not only welcome it, but openly appreciate it.
Fans in the Stands: Shifting Demographics and Social Media
Another arena where Jacob has noticed a profound shift is in the grandstands and online fandom surrounding motorsports. As a fresh face in the Moto3 World Championship, Roulstone suddenly found himself with a growing fan base – and a noticeable portion of those fans are female. “On social media, you can clearly see it… you get a lot more engagement from the female side,” he says of the uptake in likes, comments, and followers since he hit the world stage.
Indeed, whether it’s young women cheering on their favorite riders on Instagram or girls showing up trackside, the stereotype that motorsport’s audience is exclusively male no longer holds true. Roulstone points out that at rider meet-and-greets and autograph sessions, the crowd is now “half female, half male, which is really nice to see”. As someone who grew up in a racing environment largely devoid of women, Jacob finds it “cool” and gratifying that more women and girls are taking interest in the sport he loves.
Some of Jacob’s most loyal supporters today are people who might never have followed motorcycle racing if not for a personal connection. His rise from Jamberoo to the world stage has given friends, family, and even casual acquaintances a reason to tune in – and many have become genuine racing fans in the process. It’s these personal connections that quietly broaden the sport’s reach, pulling new people into the world of motorsport one story at a time.
Larger cultural shifts are helping motorsport reach new audiences. Jacob notes how social media and shows like Drive to Survive have made Formula One especially popular among young women - a trend he sees as promising for MotoGP too. What might seem like a passing fad signals something deeper: motorsport is becoming more accessible, relatable, and reflective of diverse fans. “It’s good for the sport… to have that wider reach,” Jacob says, believing that greater female interest naturally leads to more women participating — as riders, professionals, or passionate supporters. A broader fanbase doesn’t just grow the sport; it makes it stronger.
Roulstone: One to Watch Out For
As Jacob Roulstone’s racing career accelerates, so does his belief that motorsport should be a place for everyone. It’s his openness and belief that motorsport should be for everyone, that inspires change on international levels. His journey is just beginning, but it’s already marked by more than just results. When asked what advice he’d give to the next generation of racers, his answer is simple: work hard, enjoy it, and don’t let anything - including gender - hold you back.
As one of Australia’s brightest rising stars, there is no doubt Jacob Roulstone is a name to watch out for. From his impressive break-out performances in the 2024 Moto3 season, his undeniable passion and drive to return to racing, even after suffering a frightening injury, to come back and score championship points, there is no doubt the future is bright.
Be sure to check out Jacob's recent video on his rise to Moto3 and his highlights from the 2024 season!
You can also follow his journey on Instagram: @jacob.roulstone
Or Facebook: @JacobRoulstone12
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